Scott Harrington

For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Scott Harrington (ice hockey).
Scott Harrington

Harrington in 2014
Nationality American
Born (1963-12-24) December 24, 1963
Louisville, Kentucky
Retired 2003
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
Years active 1996-2000, 2002
Teams Della Penna Motorsports
Riley & Scott
Harrington Motorsports
Nienhouse Motorsports
Mid-America Motorsports
Brayton Racing
Starts 13
Wins 0
Poles 0
Fastest laps 0
Best finish 14th in 1999
Previous series
2003
1992-1994
1989
1988
1987-1988
Indy Pro Series
SCCA Can-Am
CART
ARS
Toyota Atlantic
Awards
1999 Indy Racing League Rookie of the Year

Scott Harrington (born December 24, 1963) is an American former auto racing driver in the Indy Racing League. He is now a private racing driver coach.

Biography

Harrington was born in Louisville, Kentucky and attended the University of Louisville.[1] Starting out on two wheels, Harrington won a number of championships and achieved much success in the world of AMA Motocross and Supercross. In 1986 Sports Car Magazine picked Harrington as one of the three most promising drivers in the U.S. He was a multiple race winner in Toyota Formula Atlantic, finishing third in the 1988 championship despite running the uncompetitive Ralt chassis. He was the only person ever to win a race in the 1988 Ralt. From 1992 through 1994, Harrington had much success in the SCCA Can-Am series. During his tenure in the series, he won more races than any other driver. He won the 1992 championship and scored race wins in every season.

An accomplished open wheel racer who made a single CART start in 1989, Harrington made a last second Bump Day run to qualify for the first IRL-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 in 1996.[2] In 1999 he ran a full IRL season with his own team and had numerous top ten finishes, including a top five finish at Phoenix International Raceway, at the time the highest finishing position for the Infiniti engine. Despite failing to qualify for the Indy 500 and suffering serious injuries at Texas 1 (broken left tibia, right fibula, right foot and three ribs) he won the Rookie of the Year honors by a slim margin over Robby McGehee. Harrington attempted to qualify for seven different Indy 500 races but only succeeded once, in his second attempt in 1996. He had a best IRL finish of fourth at Phoenix in 1999 and had a total of 14 series starts, which is the least number of total starts by any IRL Rookie of the Year. Harrington is also the only person to ever compete in Formula Atlantic, the original Indy Lights Series, the Infiniti Pro Series, the CART Indy Car Series and the IRL Indy Car Series.

His career was affected by arrests and convictions for driving while intoxicated.[3] Harrington is also one of the few American drivers to compete in the "Big Three" of American motorsports - The Indy 500, The 24 Hours of Daytona, and The 12 Hours of Sebring. Harrington also competed in the SVRA celebrity Pro-Am in 2014 and 2015. He finished 9th of the 33 starters in 2015.

After retiring from active driving, Harrington has achieved success in his driver coaching business,[4] including coaching Highcroft Racing factory Acura team Championship winning owner-driver Duncan Dayton and Mike Miserandino who has won four national championships in a row. He also competes in a number of vintage endurance races every year. In 2014 his vintage coaching customer Bill Abel won a national championship at the SVRA National Championship at the Circuit of the Americas. In addition to his testing and training work, Harrington does promotional work for various manufacturers.

Harrington currently lives in Indianapolis with his wife Marsie and his young son.

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status
1985 Road Atlanta Spec Racer Renault Sports Renault 3 2 Running
1986 Road Atlanta Spec Racer Renault Sports Renault DNS
Swift DB2 Ford Sports 2000 2 2 Running

Indy 500 results

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish
1989 Lola Cosworth Failed to Qualify
1996 Lola Ford-Cosworth 32nd 15th
1997 G-Force Oldsmobile Qualifying Crash
1998 Dallara Oldsmobile Failed to Qualify
1999 Dallara Infiniti Failed to Qualify
2000 Dallara Oldsmobile Failed to Qualify
2002 Dallara Chevrolet Failed to Qualify

References

  1. Reed, Terry. Indy: The Race And Ritual Of The Indianapolis 500. Potomac Books, Inc. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  2. "Scott Harrington". Driver's Edge. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  3. Vega, Michael (12 August 2000). "Gordon Is Enjoying Ride On The Road To Success". Boston Globe. p. G17. The career of Indy Racing League driver Scott Harrington has come to a perilous crossroads after he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol last Saturday in Indianapolis. It marks Harrington's third DUI offense in the last eight months,
  4. "Scott Harrington". Driver's Edge. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Robby Unser
IndyCar Series
Rookie of the Year

1999
Succeeded by
Airton Daré
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